10/09/2014
I just found out that Don Angier died today, and am at a loss for words. While Angier, Soke was never my instructor, he had a profound impact on me as a martial artist and the way I teach today. As I’ve said in the past I owe him a lot.
I owe him a lot because when I met him I was a point in my martial arts development where I was questioning what my teacher had taught me. No other martial arts instructor I had gone to since my teacher’s did anything similar, (the Aikido guys were close, but still very different), and I was beginning to think what I had learned was wrong. The very way I had been taught was wrong.
That belief changed instantly during my first seminar with Angier, Soke back in 1994. Not only was he teaching things that were familiar, he was teaching them at a level that surpassed those of my instructor. It was sort of like going from high school to grad school.
I would never say that I learned any “techniques” that weekend, but what I walked away was more valuable and precious to me than I can express in words. For the first time I met a teacher who not only had phenomenal physical skills, but more importantly had the ability to explain what he was doing using science. He could break down every movement and articulate why every action worked.
“Triangulation, double weighting, sectional movement, back-pressure, etc.” things I had been doing all my life now had terms I could identify them with. Finally I had something tangible, (opposed to the esoteric/lost in translation explanations of my teacher), of how and why things worked the way they did. I now had “principles,” based on science I could search for within my art. Principles I could use to refine what I already knew, and make myself a better practitioner and teacher.
That weekend opened my eyes to a whole new realm of exploration I may have never known. It helped me on my path to explore my art at a deeper level, and fill in many of the missing pieces I was unable to get from my teacher.
Over the years I attended numerous seminars taught by Angier, Soke, and each time I walked away with new ideas and concepts to explore. Each time I left I was mentally invigorated, ready to see how what he taught could be applied to the art I practice.
Like I’ve told all my students over the years, I have never gone to Angier, Soke’s seminars to learn techniques. To be honest, I often found myself physically incapable of doing many of the techniques the way he taught them, and the way he expected them to be done. But I never stopped trying. I did my best at the seminars to do things his way, and use those lessons to improve my skills back at my own school. I took what he gave me and made it my own.
Sure, over the years I have been accused of “stealing.” From Angier, Soke, however there is no one I have ever taught that is not aware who deserves the credit.
I of course have never considered it as stealing. I look at it as embracing the information he was so willing to share at these seminars, and running with it. Though I may not have fully understood everything he was saying at the time, (even to this day), I saw the value of this information, and its importance.
Clearly, his seminars were both physically and mentally challenging for me, but the most important aspect of them were they were my first steps in a quest to seek out and discover even more information, which has often led to even more insights and further questions to be answered in the future. Maybe that alone is why I have so much respect for Angier, Soke. He made me think. He made me examine things. He didn’t just hand me knowledge, he inspired me to search further.
Without a doubt, over the years I have incorporated and taught a lot of the information Angier, Soke shared. I’ve even changed many of the things I used to do/teach based on corrections he made/ insights he led me to explore. I’ve never, and will never deny that.
I also have no illusions I will ever attain his mastery of the martial arts. All I can do is aspire to improve myself based on the knowledge he gave me.
Angier, Soke changed the way I look at martial arts. He helped me improve my abilities, and the way I teach. He was a mentor, without maybe even realizing that’s what he meant to me.
The funny thing is, in the end how I’ll remember Angier, Soke the most has nothing to do with anything he ever taught at any seminar. No it’s more personal, and related to some advice he once gave me.
A few years after we first met, we were casually talking, and I brought up my dilemma between what my teacher had taught me, and my realization on how different everybody else seemed to do things. Basically, I was having doubts about what I had learned in the past, and if I should even pass the knowledge down to others.
His advice was simple, “Don’t care what other people do/think, and be true to yourself.”
Yes, its advice one could hear from anybody, part of me may have already felt that way to some degree, but unlike most of our conversations which ended on a single phrase or thought this one didn’t.
While I don’t remember the conversation word for word, what he said had a lasting influence on me. For the first time, a martial artist I fully respected, made me feel positive about who I was as a martial artist.
Clearly, and in no uncertain terms, he made sure I understood I still had a lot to learn, but he made me feel that all the years of training I had done weren’t worthless. That I had potential if I was willing to work to achieve it.
Though some of his former students may have comments that debate the above statement, they weren’t present during our conversation, and Angier, Soke had no reason to offer the encouragement that he did. And as Angier, Soke stated I don’t care what others think.
It’s true I may never know what he really thought about me, if he even had an opinion. All I know is that he taught me a great deal, inspired me to be better, and with a simple phrase made me change my outlook on the art I’ve now been practicing for over 40 years.
Part of me wishes I had known about Angier, Soke when I was a young man. I would have definitely tried to become one of his students then. But that was not meant to be.
Fortunately, by some random luck, I did meet him, and had the opportunity to learn from him. For that I am grateful.
Angier, Soke you will be missed. RIP
